Weather Likely to Change an Octave: From Muggy to Wet

Tropical Storm Octave, the moody creature that delivered alternate punches of wilting heat, pounding surf and muggy air the last few days, is expected to bow out of Orange County this weekend with a final, soggy farewell: a good chance of rain.

Forecasters said Octave was losing its power and that its final gesture probably would be scattered showers today as the storm moves onto land. The National Weather Service predicted a 60% chance of rain today, decreasing to 40% on Sunday. If the rain materializes, it could be the first measurable rainfall in Orange County since June 10.

Although temperatures were lower and the surf was calmer on Friday, it still felt hot and muggy. Anaheim, where the thermometer was 96 degrees, posted a countywide record high for a Sept. 15, breaking the previous record of 94 degrees set in 1956, also in Anaheim, according to Jim Sleeper, a county historian.

Meteorologists said Octave, which was flinging its moisture at Southern California as it spun north off the coast, was weakening as it departed.

Today’s temperatures were expected to be about 80 degrees inland and in the low to upper 70s near the coast.

Thursday’s big waves had died down at most beaches by Friday, leaving a two- to four-foot surf, only moderately higher than usual. Newport Beach was the exception: Lifeguards there saw a second day of six- to eight-foot sets.

Smog eased off too. Two first-stage alerts were called by the South Coast Air Quality Management District on Thursday, and not issued Friday. Air quality was considered good in the El Toro area and moderate in all other parts of Orange County.

Temperatures were generally cooler Friday throughout most of Orange County. In El Toro, where the mercury topped out at 94 degrees Thursday, it was only 88 Friday. In San Juan Capistrano, where it was 100 Thursday, temperatures peaked at 83 on Friday.

Still, the heat and high humidity produced an uncomfortable mugginess.

Candace Sims, 25, who works for Eastern Onion Singing Telegram Co., said her first job of the day was “awful” in the heat: dressed in a bright pink, furry gorilla suit, she had to sing and dance at a gas station in Irvine.

“It was this guy’s birthday,” she said. “I was trying to look good and all, but my makeup was melting. I was roasting. I had to jump around with my tambourine while I sang and played the kazoo. Then I had to do the bunny hop.”

Minutes after she got back into her car, Sims pulled over and stripped down to the bathing suit she wore under the gorilla get-up. Then she bought a cherry slush for the ride home.

Aspiring tanners who thought the heat might promise them a darker shade of brown were frustrated by the gray skies.

“The weather’s not too good for tanning,” said Ellyn Horak, who works at Alpha Tan in San Clemente. “It’s really humid and overcast. People are saying it’s hot, but they’re not getting any color laying out (in the sun). So they’re coming in here.”

Others were unfazed by the heat. Paul Bottalico, 34, a salesman at a Santa Ana Honda dealership, said Friday’s combination of heat and humidity was “nothing compared to Dallas, where I come from.”

By early evening Friday, Octave was about 360 miles south of Los Angeles and moving north at about 10 m.p.h., said Rick Dittmann, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

The remainder of the storm was expected to move onto land Saturday, Dittmann said. By that time, Octave will have lost most of its strength, but will trail with it cloudy skies and scattered rainfall.

Left to its own devices, the storm probably would have moved out to sea and died without bringing rain to Southern California, Dittmann said. But a low-pressure system off the coast steered Octave to the east and kept up its strength, forcing the storm to disperse its moisture over land, Dittmann said.

Even though there were no smog alerts called Friday, the weather was enough to keep many seniors indoors. Some nursing homes restricted their residents’ activities to protect their health.

Leo Thomas, 74, who has lung cancer and lives in an Anaheim nursing home, said he usually sits outside on the deck, but Friday he watched soap operas inside because he “can’t stand the heat or the smog.”

Mattie Crawford, 81, another resident of the home, said the heat doesn’t bother her, but she stayed inside on her doctor’s orders.

Times staff writer Allison Samuels contributed to this story.